If you are a farmer, or you’re thinking about becoming one, you’re going to be facing a lot of challenges on a daily basis. This might be a problem with your livestock, environmental issues on your land or balancing your costs. How do you deal with each of these issues while continuing to run a profitable business? It’s an interesting question and one that, unfortunately, doesn’t have an easy answer. There is a lot to think about and any decision you make will not solve all the problems. But we think this advice will help you with the big issues that you could face.
Environmental Impact
If you’re choosing to set up your farm, you should, of course, take the environmental factors into account. For instance, you need to think about the different weather that you will face in the area. As an example, if you are in an area that faces a lot of rain, dairy farming is not your best solution. You won’t be able to get the cows out in the fields a lot through the year and that means you’ll need a different solution. You’ll need to provide a sheltered, secure, inside environment.
As well as this, you have to consider issues on the land that you own. For instance, you might find that on your land, trees are starting to encroach into one of your fields. It could be a situation similar to the picture below.
Or the trees in question could be a lot taller. But they are on your land and that makes them your responsibility. You will have to manage the trees appropriately. You can do this by hiring a team or an arborist. This is an individual who is skilled at managing and cultivating the trees. Or, if you have this skill, you can deal with the encroachment yourself. Just remember to use the proper arborist equipment for safety. Also don’t be tempted to leave the tree and save on cost. One bad storm and you’ve got a field that can no longer be used.
Cost Cutting
It’s getting more difficult with each passing year for farmers to make a profit. We know what is to blame but what is the solution? The answer is for farmers to cut costs where they can. This usually means some form of outsourcing. For instance, a dairy farmer might provide the milk but hire another business to package and sell it on. By doing this, you’ll cut the costs because you won’t need to buy the necessary machinery or hire the manual labour.
Farmers are also cost cutting by buying tech instead of labour. For instance, rather than hire twenty workers a dairy farm can be run by a family of four and a milking machine. It’s as simple as that and incredibly cost effective.
Safety
Farmers may not realise this but farms are commonly targeted for theft. Farms are often in secluded areas and thieves often take the risk that no one will see or hear them breaking in. You must do everything you can to make sure your farm is set up as a deterrent against crime. Buying a guard dog is a good idea but remember if anyone is harmed on your property, you can be held responsible. Unfortunately, this includes trespassers.
